Exploring locally

One of our thoughts has been to get to know our local village, Mytholmroyd, a little bit better, rather than just passing through all the time. We drove over the river and canal and found free parking slightly up the hill before taking off on foot.

Stephen needed more Compeed for his toes so our first port of call was a pharmacy, which is near the medical centre and post office just over the river bridge, very handy indeed. It is a very good chemist and had all of the small items we needed. We then walked back across the bridge to look at the local church, St Michaels, which was shut, and check out a cafe and delicatessin nearby.

St Michael’s Church, Mytholmroyd

At that point we felt that perhaps that was enough. We weren’t ready for morning tea or lunch and I suggested that we go along the road to Hebden Bridge to explore the river and canal there. So, we did. We were fortunate that we weren’t held up by the road block on the way there, though there were long waits for traffic when we came back.

The ‘works’ are not roadworks, as I previously reported, but flood mitigation works. This area has had very serious floods, yet people are still building nice houses, with glass conservatories, backing onto the river. I guess they have trust that the flood control measures will work. We have decided that we don’t mind the delays if it means more safety for the village.

Flood mitigation in M

We had lunch at a cafe in HB because when we were walking around it began to rain. The rain was interspersed with sunny spells and the rain was mostly very light indeed, so it wasn’t necessarily the best idea. By the time we had our walk, took refuge in another cafe, and extended our car park stay by about an hour, the rain looked like settling in and we drove home, doing shopping at the Co-op on the way.

‘if you don’t care for tea you might at least make polite conversation’. The Mad Hatter asked Alice if she liked tea and she said she did very much. This was his maddening reply. The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party theme wasn’t wholly consistent in this little canalside cafe, but it was full of quirky decorative touches.

There was also a little suite of workshops, some selling their wares. I was exploring it whilst Stephen walked back to the car to extend our car park stay.

There are quite a few narrow boats on the canal, some obviously lived in and all looking rather shabby. Perhaps it’s a ploy to deter thieves and they are utterly luxurious inside.

We enjoyed our day very much and now feel that we can go further afield with a clear conscience. It’s good to know exactly where to find services and to have located a couple of cafes in Mytholmroyd. Of course, pubs also double as cafes, and we have plenty of those.